Sindustry's July 4th Family Vegas Trip and an Impromptu Venetian 1-Nighter

I was going to do this trip live, but then I figured there would only be updates within a 3-4 hour window during the vampire hours of the night...so, decided to do a post-trip report instead. Let's see if I can keep this short and to the point!

This trip for July 4th Weekend spanned from July 2 to July 5. I had originally had an Aria SS booked, but changed my mind a week or two before the trip, and switched to Mirage...mostly due to 4 young kids coming on this trip. The kids loved the Mirage pool and Cabana last year, so why change a sure thing...lol.


DAY 1 (Thursday, July 2, 2015):

My bro-law and I left Thursday morning with 3 of the kids. I rented a Tahoe through AAA/Hertz and when I picked it up, I was surprised to find out it was fairly loaded...DVD Player, Automatic 4WD, (P)Leather. The wife and her older sis-law drove up later in the afternoon with the 4th kid, and the younger sis-law flew up early evening.



The drive to Vegas was pretty uneventful. We played movies for the kids the entire way and made it to Vegas within 4 hours. We dropped the Tahoe off at the North Valet at Mirage and let the Bell Hop handle all the luggage as we took the kids in. The checkin desk was super busy, and the invited guest line was fairly busy as well (more than 5 deep). I crossed my fingers and hoped the Host coded me for VIP checkin, so I walk into the VIP lounge and gave them my name and ID. Thankfully, I was coded, and within minutes I was out of there!



We made the quick walk over to the elevators and were in our 2 bedroom Hospitality Suite in no time!





I forgot to take a pic of the Master Bedroom and the connector bedroom...we had to get housekeeping to unlock the door to the connector room. The master bedroom was kind of small, especially with the King bed caddy-cornered. The connector room is basically a slightly larger Deluxe room with 2 Queen beds.

While waiting for the the rest of the family to arrive, bro-law and I took the kids over to the Linq area to walk around. I kept forgetting to take my phone out to take pics, but I did manage to snap a couple pics of this wall art...




Once the rest of the family arrived, we got all the kids settled in and I was finally able to head down to gamble. Bro-law came down with me, and while he is not really a gambler, he will hit the slots on occasion. I took him over to a bank of Blazing 7's slots and told him that they hit pretty frequently. Within a short time of playing, I happened to hit 3 Blazing 7's for $1000...



Unfortunately, bro-law was not hitting much at all on any machine he was playing. After giving back a few hundred on various penny slots and dollar slots, I switched over to the tables. I played some UTH and some BJ...won a little on UTH and lost slightly more than a little on BJ. Plee ended up stopping by while I was playing BJ and after some slot play, we decided to head over to Cosmo. I managed to get one handpay at Cosmo, but I lost it back on other machines before they even got a chance to pay me. In addition to the ugly slot results, I also lost $2000 on FFBJ at Cosmo.



While at Cosmo, I started to get texts from my wife to not stay out too late. Of course I reply "ok"...the generic guy answer. The texts started around 2am. By 3:30, I was back at Mirage, trying to find a lucky machine to pay me...lol. Wife texts me again saying if I am not up in the room by 4am she is going to lock me out. Plee calls this "Korean Fury"...lol. Well, after not being able to find a winning machine, I noticed it is now 4:30, so I go up to the suite and sure enough, my key will not open the door...lol...she did what she said she would do...she bolted the door from the inside...shit! I texted my bro-law and one of the sis-laws, but they were sound asleep. I did want to be that guy banging on the door at 4:30 in the morning, so I start thinking where I can get a free room real quick at this time of night/day. I speed-walk over to Caesars, but Diamond checkin is closed and the front desk is actually really busy already...shit! I speed walk back up the strip and over to Venetian. I am directed to the Credit Desk where the Host on Duty is working. I tell him that I do not have a reservation and that I made a last minute decision to come here and that I have not played yet today, but am dead tired and will play after some sleep. He looks me up in the system and then asks just for one night? I say yes, and he asks V or P? I like P better, but V is closer to Mirage, so I say V. He directs me to the front desk and says I am set for a room...sweet...haha "Korean Fury"! By the time I get to my peaceful room, it is already 5:30 am. It was nothing but hookers, strippers, and me in this dog house! Just kidding...lol...once my head hit the pillow, I was lights out! The awesome thing about checking in at 5:30 in the morning...in case I get locked out again, I still have this room until the following morning! Luckily, I did not need it...or unluckily, depending how you look at it...it was a nice room. My plan was to wake up at 7:30 so I could head back to Mirage and help get the kids ready for the pool.




DAY 2 (Friday, July 3, 2015):

I did wake up at 7:30 and I made my way back to Mirage. My wife was pretty pissed and we both pretty much avoided each other all day. We ended up getting the same Cabana that we got the past two visits. I forgot to take pics of the Cabana, but we like the Mirage cabanas a lot. they are set back from the foot traffic around the pool. There are grassy knolls and tall Palm Trees to provide shade, yet there is still full sun on the lounge chairs on the patio area of the cabanas, so you can still lay out if you want. There are misters on the Cabana and at the front of the patio area, to help keep cool. The fridge is stocked with sodas, water, fruit plate, and a cheese plate. We spent most of the afternoon at the pool and the kids had a blast!

I actually do not remember much about Friday, after the pool. The heat, lack of sleep, having to walk through the pool as fast as I can with 3 kids hanging on to me, pretending I am a boat, kind of wore me out...lol. I am pretty sure what little slots I played was full of suck...well, except for the $1 Blazing 7's machine...I was making money off of one particular machine from the bank of progressives, all weekend. I do remember playing UTH and making some money from it.

Actually, one thing about Friday night I clearly remember, is heading back to Venetian to give them some play for the room...big mistake. I was playing UTH there and after a half hour or so, realized they lowered the aggregate payout for the table. It used to be $125,000, but now it is $50,000. The bad thing is I was playing at twice the stakes needed to max out the table aggregate...essentially doubling the house advantage. Even worse, they now allow you to play two hands on the UTH table, so instead of splitting my bet over two hands, i kept playing one at twice the ideal bet level. I promptly lost my buy-in within the next 45 minutes or so. I then tried some slots, which were mostly full of suck. The only machine that paid me was a dollar version of a penny game...it cost a minimum of $88 per spin. I managed to ring out several hundred from that machine, but it was promptly given back to Venetian via Wolf Run, Platinum Quick Hits, and Cleo2. All-in-all, the Venetian ended up being an expensive doghouse. I went back to the suite at Mirage and turned in fairly early... around 1:45am or so.


Day 3 (Saturday, July 4, 2015): Happy Independence Day!!!

This is the day the handpays start coming in!

July 4th started with us waking up and debating if we wanted the cabana. The kids were surprisingly did not want to go to the pool today, and everyone else was pretty fatigued from being out in the sun all day yesterday. So, when the phone rang to see if we wanted the cabana, we declined.

We all decided to go check out Hash House at the Linq for breakfast. We have been to the one in San Diego, but have never been to the one in Vegas. We made the short trek across the street, but when you have 4 small kids in tow, the trek seems like walking the entire strip. We arrived at the Linq…I am still amazed how much nicer this place looks, compared to when it was IP. We rode the escalator up to Hash House and hit a wall of patrons, waiting to be seated…hoooooly fuuuuuuu…nnnnnn. I happened to notice a sign for Diamond card holders…hmmm…will it help? Sure did! We got seated within minutes and they were able to seat all 9 of us at one table…suuuweeet! This earned me brownie points from the wife…yes! I didn’t take pics of the food, as the portions are monstrous and I did not want to have any nightmares of huge pancakes attacking me.

After Breakfast, we walked around a bit and then headed back to the Mirage. Everyone just kind of chilled in the suite for most of the day. I took my younger daughter down to the Secret Garden to check out the Dolphins and Cats. Usually when I see the Cats, they are just laying around, but this time, the trainers just threw in some balls (catnip papier-mache?). Let’s just say, I am glad I am not in those cages when they have the balls in there.

When my daughter and I got back to the suite, everyone was kind of hungry, but no one wanted anything heavy. I suggested Hainan Chicken, Shumai and Soup Dumplings, from Beijing Noodle 9, at Caesars. Bro-law and I hiked over to Caesars. Noodle 9 was not taking takeout orders, so the alternative was we wait to get seated, order, and then ask for to go boxes. The hostess quoted us 45 minutes wait. We head over to Diamond Lounge. I order a Goose and Tonic from the Cocktail Waiter, but he brings me Shit and Tonic. I mentioned in another thread that so far, the only place that has done an alcohol switch on me was Caesars…well, they did it again! I did not expect this to happen in the DL, the CW was still there and I immediately mentioned to him that this was not Goose. His response was they do not have Goose and that the bartender gave me Kettle One…hahaha…more like Cattle One! I leave the drink on the table and Bro-law and I leave the DL. I walk over to HL slots and I stick a hundred into the $25 Wheel of Fortune slot…first spin…blank…second spin…blank. Damnit! I then stick a hundred in a $25 Double Gold slot…first spin…blank…second spin…cue Ode To Joy!!!!

[video=youtube;2aQ8DUHMg7o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aQ8DUHMg7o[/video]



Hell yeah! That’s a decent handpay for the investment! Great thing about getting a handpay at CET properties is there is no waiting forever…they write up the temporary w2g and pay you on the spot. After the handpay, we go to Noodle 9…sit down…order the food…get it to go…leave the tip (grrr…I know this is the reason they don’t want to do takeout orders…can’t fool me!). We make our way to head back onto the strip…Hooooooly fuuuuu…XXX! The sidewalks and grassy areas are packed with people waiting to see fireworks. It’s ok though…I’m a Ninja…I start darted through the crowd and we make it to the Mirage with relative quickness!

After everyone eats and continues to just chill in the room, I start to get antsy…I feel like time is wasting as I could be downstairs getting my gamble on! I ask my sis-in-laws if they can help my wife get the kids ready for bed, so I can head down and play early, so I don’t have to stay up too late. They know my predicament and both agree to help out so I can do my thing. First order is to hit the UTH tables…uh-oh…it did not go so well. To make it worse, I notice that Mirage had also lowered their table aggregate payout for the bonus bets. The new aggregate is $75,000 maximum payout per player. I was betting $200 on the ante and Blind, so a Royal would typically get me $100,000, but since it is capped at $75,000, it looks like I am adding onto the house edge. At least Mirage and the rest of Mlife rates at 3x Ante + Trips…much better than V/P and W/E, who rate at 2x Ante + Trips. The best potential for a big hand was being dealt 7-8 diamonds and flopping an open-ended straight flush draw. Of course I got blank-blank, which is too bad, as it would have been a $10,000 payout. After cutting my losses on UTH, I decided to hit the slots. Without blabbering on about the details, I’ll just let the pics and videos speak (vids added as new posts, starting at post #18)…














DAY 4 (July 5, 2015):

Checkout day…massive traffic is expected. Around 11:30 or so, we are on the road and heading back to Cali! Ugghhhhhhhhhhhhhh! We are coming up to Gold Strike, when some of the kids decide that NOOOOWWWWW they need to go potty. We take the exit and take all the kids in to go potty. Gold Strike must love Sundays…they seem to be getting all the Cali-bound people, waiting out the traffic. After everyone does their potty duty, bro-law and I decide we ought to take the road less travelled to bypass the traffic on the 15. This is where you can hear first hand a small snipet of what “The Fury” is all about. Enjoy…

*SEE POST #27*

After hours of driving, we finally make it back home around 7:30. After I get the kids set for bed, I prepare for my new customary post-vegas tradition…go straight to my local casino (Pechanga). I get a couple of Monster drinks ready and head down to Pechanga. The last time I did this, I hit 8 handpays at the local…the first one being in the $8,000 range. Don’t ask how much of that I left with…I’ll lie…lol. Well, soon after arriving, I managed to hit a nice jackpot again! I fed $400 into this machine, with the intention of only playing 20 spins total. I never got below my initial investment when the jackpot hit. I did end up losing some of the jackpot back on various slots, but I somehow convinced myself to leave before I went into “chase-mode”. I should also credit Plee for enabling me to leave…he texted, “Run the fuck away”…lol…thanks bro!




Until next time!!!!

 

Korean Fury, LOL
I lub Plee

 

Plee is such a bad influence! Keeping you out after your curfew.

 

Good to have a backup plan. . . . Korean fury . . .

 

Nothing good ever happens when hanging around plee.

 

Great stuff Sin! Very funny. You just again validated your Vegas DEGEN status! If I was still married I would have run home at 3:30am with my tail between my legs. My Ex would have still been pissed and not talk to me for 2 days! Unless of course I lied and told her I was on a heater and threw her a 1000 or so.. Proud of you!

 

You always crack me up Sin.

 

Wait until I add the side excursion we took, driving back to Cali...you will hear "The Fury"

 

I blame Pleep all the time. Why are you still gambling? Pleepleus dragged me to Cosmopolitan

I lub Pleep he is a great scape goat.


sindustry I heard about the WOF spin I asked if you punched the machine. Pleep said you didn't but did dump the hand pay in the machine before you got it.


Packer works for Wynn Pleep works for Cosmo to rope in players to play at the casino.

I heard the good part. Waiting on the second part with Korean fury.



On the side not I think the drive back stop is a good thing I'm going to have to meet you there sometime. Great TR. Thanks for the pics. I'll be there in 3 days.

 

Oh damn, my wife will be with me this weekend and will meet plee for the first time. Hope I do not have the same problem. I can handle him solo but it might be a different story with the wifey.

I hope he is on his best behavior....Are you reading this plee??

 

I'll blame Plee for everything, and charge everything to Packer's room.

 

Epic so far sin well done ! Lol

 

I also blame everything on Mr Plee like you do but I will charge my meals and cabana to your room!

 

My g/f will never read this report...I don't want her to get ideas...:evillaugh

 

LOL! Laughing with you, not at you, only because I get it- I go to Vegas with a non gambling spouse!! You are gutsy and brave - love it!!

Cannot wait for the rest of this TR!

 

Too funny! Korean Fury, haha! Really enjoying your report and looking forward to reading about the side trip home!

 

Just added some pics...tried to add video, but it seems I can only add one video per post.

 

The $2,000 Handpay at Cosmo...

http://youtu.be/mqRgvx5eUh8

 

$156!????? F U Cleo!

http://youtu.be/O69xu3kl9QY

 

$110?!???! F U Wolf!

http://youtu.be/EbU3nQ9pUtU